STEPH Owens stunned her rivals – and herself – by capturing a title at the British Senior Championships after an eight-month injury lay-off.

The Buckley strength athlete, model and personal trainer, who is also Miss Flintshire 2012, is still a relative newcomer to the world of weightlifting. She made her name as a youth international athlete for Wales and Deeside AAC in the hammer throw and discus.

But in South Normanton, Derbyshire, the 21-year-old successfully lifted a 59kg snatch – where the barbell is swung overhead in one movement – and a 77kg clean and jerk – where the weight is rested on the chest briefly before being pushed above the athlete’s head – for a winning 136kg total in the women’s 69kg class, surprising herself and her coaches in the process.

Owens has been involved in weightlifting for only three years, but for the last eight months she has been barely able to train after pulling her hip flexor.

“I was frustrated as I submitted my forms to gain eligibility for the London Olympic qualification period last July,” she said. “But a month later I got injured and my coach told me to forget about the Olympics.

“Basically I could not drive to training in Holyhead, I could barely drive the 45 minutes to my physio appointments and I even struggled to bend down to swill my mouth when brushing my teeth.”

It was in October that Owens began to tentatively return to the gym, practising only technique with an empty barbell.

The injury meant she lost a lot of muscle in her legs, where lifting power is generated, and she has still not rebuilt that.

But as 2012 dawned she began to surprise her coaches with her progress.

“I began lifting similar weights to those I was lifting before my injury,” she said.

“But I was still lacking the leg strength. I finished second in the Welsh Senior Championships and won the Welsh under 23s because my technique was good but it was a demo I took part in Birmingham which flicked the switch in my brain.

“I was lifting with people a couple of feet from me and suddenly everything clicked, about the technique, concentrating on myself not my opponents or my surroundings. I think that has helped me a lot.”

It was that realisation that Owens believes helped her become British champion.

“My coach Ray Williams said he had never seen me so relaxed before the competition. I went into it without any expectations as last year I failed to register a lift,” she said.

“This time with my injury I just wanted to get some successful lifts, plus part of me was worrying that I hadn’t packed for my holiday the following day so I was not stressed about the competition.”

When it began, the weights just kept coming and before she knew it Owens was at the top of the leaderboard.

“I was as shocked as anyone,” she said. “The difficult thing now is how to replicate it in future, but this has been a great year, becoming British champion and Miss Flintshire after getting injured in sport and finishing fifth in Miss Flintshire last year. Everything has just come together!”

Owens fell short of the Olympic B standard of 210kg total weight at the British Championships and cannot be considered for the London 2012 team, but she has targeted the 2014 Commonwealth Games as her next goal.

“I am only 30kg off the qualification standard for the Commonwealths and the qualifying period opens in 2013 and closes in late 2014 so I have two years to make up 30kg, which is not too big an ask,” Owens added.